Barrel nut mounted mounting structure for a rifle accessory item and system comprising same

ABSTRACT

A main body of a rifle accessory mounting apparatus comprises an accessory mounting structure having opposing end portions and a barrel nut engaging structure connected to a first one of the end portions of the accessory mounting structure. An end face of the accessory mounting structure defines a front end face of the main body and an end face of the barrel nut engaging structure defines a rear end face of the main body. A central passage of the main body extends through the accessory mounting structure and the barrel nut engaging structure.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application having Ser. No. 61/631,893; filed Jan. 13, 2012; entitled “Means Of Attaching A Free Floating Hand Guard Or Rail System To A Barrel Nut Of A Rifle”; having a common applicant herewith; and being incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosures made herein relate generally to rifles and, more particularly, to mounting structures for allowing an accessory item to be mounted on a rifle through a barrel nut thereof.

BACKGROUND

There is often the need to mount an accessory item on a rifle. In many instances, such accessory item is mounted at a position that overlays at least a portion of a barrel of the rifle. A hand guard and a rail system are two examples of such an accessory item. One shortcoming of mounting an accessory item directly on the elongated portion of the barrel is heat generated through discharge of ammunition being transferred into the accessory item. Another shortcoming of mounting an accessory item directly on the elongated portion of the barrel is vibration resulting from discharge of ammunition being transferred into the accessory item. Still another shortcoming of mounting an accessory item directly on the elongated portion of the barrel is complexity of integrating a barrel mounting structure into the accessory item as it related to differences in barrel dimensions/configurations.

Therefore, a novel and unique means for mounting an accessory item over a barrel of a rifle in a manner that overcomes one or more shortcoming associated with known approaches for mounting an accessory item over a barrel of a rifle would be advantageous, desirable and useful.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a mounting structure for allowing an accessory item to be mounted on a rifle through a barrel nut of the rifle. Furthermore, a mounting structure configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention preferably allows the accessory item to be mounted through a barrel nut in a manner in which the accessory item is free-floating in regard to contact with the barrel. For example, a hand guard with integral rail is mounted entries on the rifle through the barrel nut and is free-floating. Examples of an accessory item being free-floating with respect to the barrel include the accessory item not being in contact with the barrel of the firearm and the accessory item not being inhibited from longitudinal movement along a length of the firearm through its direct engagement with the barrel. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention advantageously overcome one or more shortcomings associated with known approaches for mounting an accessory item over a barrel of a rifle.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a main body of a rifle accessory mounting apparatus comprises an accessory mounting structure having opposing end portions and a barrel nut engaging structure connected to a first one of the end portions of the accessory mounting structure. An end face of the accessory mounting structure defines a front end face of the main body and an end face of the barrel nut engaging structure defines a rear end face of the main body. A central passage of the main body extends through the accessory mounting structure and the barrel nut engaging structure.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a rifle accessory mounting apparatus comprises a main body and a barrel nut securing member. The main body has an accessory mounting structure and a barrel nut engaging structure connected to the accessory mounting structure. An end face of the accessory mounting structure defines a front end face of the main body and an end face of the barrel nut engaging structure defines a rear end face of the main body. A central passage of the main body extends through the main body between the front and rear end faces thereof. The barrel nut securing member has a main body attachment structure integral therewith. The main body attachment structure is alignable with an engagement member attachment structure of the barrel nut engaging structure for enabling a shoulder of a barrel nut to be securely engaged between the barrel nut engaging structure and the barrel nut securing member when the shoulder of the barrel nut is positioned between the barrel nut engaging structure and the barrel nut securing member.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a rifle accessory system comprises a mounting apparatus main body and a rifle accessory main body. The mounting apparatus main body includes an accessory mounting structure having opposing end portions and a barrel nut engaging structure connected to a first one of the end portions of the accessory mounting structure such that an end face of the accessory mounting structure defines a front end face of the mounting apparatus main body and an end face of the barrel nut engaging structure defines a rear end face of the mounting apparatus main body. A central passage of the mounting apparatus main body extends through the accessory mounting structure and the barrel nut engaging structure. The rifle accessory main body has a first end portion and a second end portion. A central passage of the rifle accessory extends therethrough between the first and second end portions thereof. The first end portion of the rifle accessory defines a main body engaging collar configured for having the accessory mounting structure of the mounting apparatus main body engaged therein. The main body engaging collar and the accessory mounting structure are jointly configured such that a centerline axis of the rifle accessory central passage remains substantially aligned with a centerline axis of the accessory mounting structure central passage when the accessory mounting structure of the mounting apparatus main body is engaged within the main body engaging collar.

These and other objects, embodiments, advantages and/or distinctions of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification, associated drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a rifle accessory mounting apparatus configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the rifle accessory mounting apparatus of FIG. 1 shown in relation to a rifle accessory and a delta ring of a rifle.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an assembly view corresponding to the exploded view of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a rifle accessory mounting apparatus 100 (i.e., apparatus 100, which can also be considered a device) is shown. The apparatus 100 includes a main body 102, a barrel nut 107, and compression members 110. The main body 102 (i.e., a mounting structure) has a generally round flange 104 (i.e., a barrel nut engaging structure) that is mounted in contact with the forward-facing surface 106 of a barrel nut 107 of a rifle (e.g., AR-15/M-16/M4 family of rifles). In the depicted embodiment, the forward facing surface 106 is at least partially defined by a front face of a toothed shoulder 108 that carries barrel nut teeth (i.e., the teeth 109). The main body 102 is fixedly secured against the barrel nut 107 by one or more compression members 110 (i.e., barrel nut securing members). The compression members 110 have a curved interior surface 112 to follow the contour (e.g., radius) of a rear-facing shoulder 114 of the barrel nut 107. The compression fittings 110 can be curvilinear in shape (i.e., annular shaped as shown) such they follow the curve of a cylindrical portion of the barrel nut 107 (e.g., the curvature of the rear-facing shoulder 114). A front face 116 of each compression members 110 is configured (e.g., can be substantially flat) for engaging a rearward-facing surface 118 of the toothed shoulder 108. In this manner, the main body 102 is fixedly secured to the barrel nut 107 by capturing the toothed shoulder 108 between the flange 104 and the one or more compression members 110. The main body 102 has a central passage 115 extending between its opposing end portions.

The flange 104 is secured to the compression fittings 110 using, for example, screws 120 (i.e., threaded fasteners) that extend through passages 122 (e.g., through holes) in the flange 104 and into corresponding passages 124 (e.g., threaded holes) in the compression fittings 110. As shown, longitudinal centerline axes of the screw receiving passages 122, 124 extend generally parallel to each other and to the central passage 115 and, thus to a longitudinal centerline axis of a barrel of the rifle. In this regard, the screws 120 can draw the flange 104 in the front of the barrel nut 107 toward the compression fittings 110, thereby engaging the toothed shoulder 108 therebetween. Preferably, but not necessarily, all or a portion of the screws 120 pass through a respective one of the notches 126 between two adjacent teeth 109 (e.g., in somewhat of a similar configuration to that in which pins/bushes in a bicycle chain engage between teeth of the a chain ring or sprocket). It is disclosed herein that, in some embodiments, the toothed shoulder 108 can be replaced with a toothless shoulder.

A delta nut 127 and the compression fittings 110 can be jointly configured for allowing the compression fittings 110 to sit at least partially within a recess 129 of the delta nut 127.

The strength and stability of the device 100 is obtained primarily by the rearward and forward compression of the flange 104 and compression fittings 110 against the forward-facing and rearward-facing surfaces 106,118 of the toothed shoulder 108. The flange 104 is prevented from sliding laterally or vertically on the forward-facing surface 106 of the barrel nut 107 by a protruding lip 128 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) within a recess 130 of the flange 104. The protruding lip 128 (or similarly functioning structure) engages a recess 132 (i.e., a mating portion) of the barrel nut 107. The flange 104 can also be prevented from sliding laterally or vertically on the forward-facing surface 106 of the barrel nut 107 by the above-described screws 120 that sit in the notches 126 of the barrel nut teeth 109. As shown in FIG. 3, the protruding lip 128 and the recess 130 are circular in shape and substantially concentric with the central passage 115.

After the flange 104 and compression fittings 110 are securely fastened to the barrel nut 107, a rifle accessory (e.g., a handguard, accessory rail, or the like) can be attached to the flange main body 102 in such a way that the accessory item is physically supported by the main body 102 (e.g., by the flange 104). In a preferred embodiment, a handguard 134 (shown in FIGS. 204) is constructed such that no portion of the handguard 134 touches a barrel of the rifle either directly or indirectly and is coupling thereto entirely through the barrel nut 107. The handguard 134 is one example of a main body of a rifle accessory (i.e., a rifle accessory main body).

Referring to FIGS. 3-5, the handguard 134 includes a tubular style handguard that slips over a nose portion 136 (i.e., forward end) of the main body 102 and/or flange 104. The nose portion 136 is also referred to herein as an accessory mounting portion of the main body 102. In this regard, the handguard 134 can have a main body-receiving collar 135 in which the nose portion 136 of the main body 102 and/or flange 104 is engaged (e.g., via a close tolerance fit). The handguard can then be secured on the nose portion 136 in any number of possible ways. One preferred securing means is by one or more screw holes 138 placed tangentially through the handguard in an orientation generally perpendicular to the barrel of the rifle. Such screw holes 138 serve to receive screws to tighten (i.e., draw) together a lengthwise running slit 139 (i.e., parallel to the barrel of the rifle) in the main body receiving collar 135 of the handguard 134, thus compressing the main body receiving collar 135 snugly onto the outer generally cylindrical surface of the nose portion 136 and, optionally, flange 104 of the main body 102. Such tightening screws can travel through and sit in channels 140 (i.e., a fastener clearance recess) cut tangentially in a side-to-side fashion across the surface of the nose portion 136 of the main body 102 such that each tightening screw is constrained by a respective one of the channels 140 from slipping forward or rearward along the nose portion 136 of the main body 102.

Another embodiment of the handguard to be attached to the flange can be a multi-piece handguard that is attached by screws to a flange and/or nose portion of a device configured in accordance with the present invention.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the main body can be a multi-piece device that looks and functions basically as though the generally round/cylindrical main body 102 described above had been sliced into two symmetrical halves, or into smaller pieces than halves. In another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the main body can be round/cylindrical and have a section throughout the front-to-back length of the main body such that instead of being basically round, it takes on the general shape of a “C”. This “C” shape would enable the main body to be mounted to the barrel nut by slipping the main body over the barrel of a rifle and onto the barrel nut without requiring removal of installed firearm components (e.g., the gas block, gas tube, piston drive unit, etc). In any of these alternative embodiments, the portion of the main body (e.g., a flange thereof) would still be engaged with a forward-facing surface of a barrel nut of a rifle in the same means as described above in reference to the device 100.

In the preceding detailed description, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. These embodiments, and certain variants thereof, have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that other suitable embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical, chemical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of such inventive disclosures. To avoid unnecessary detail, the description omits certain information known to those skilled in the art. The preceding detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A main body of a rifle accessory mounting apparatus, comprising: an accessory mounting structure having opposing end portions; a barrel nut engaging structure connected to a first one of the end portions of the accessory mounting structure, wherein an end face of the accessory mounting structure defines a front end face of the main body and an end face of the barrel nut engaging structure defines a rear end face of the main body; and a central passage of the main body extends through the accessory mounting structure and the barrel nut engaging structure.
 2. The main body of claim 1, further comprising: a barrel nut shoulder receiving recess within the end face of the barrel nut engaging structure, wherein the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially circular in shape.
 3. The main body of claim 2, further comprising: a barrel nut shoulder engaging lip within the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess the barrel nut engaging structure includes, wherein the barrel nut shoulder engaging lip is substantially circular in shape.
 4. The main body of claim 3 wherein: the accessory mounting structure is cylindrically shaped; the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially concentric with the central passage of the main body; and the barrel nut shoulder engaging lip is substantially concentric with the central passage of the main body.
 5. The main body of claim 4, further comprising: a plurality of fastener receiving passages extending through the barrel nut engaging structure, wherein each one of the fastener receiving passages extends substantially parallel to the central passage of the main body.
 6. The main body of claim 5, further comprising: a fastener clearance recess within an exterior side face of the accessory mounting structure, wherein the exterior side face extends between the front end face of the main body and the barrel nut engaging structure and wherein the fastener clearance recess extends substantially perpendicular to the central passage of the main body.
 7. The main body of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of fastener receiving passages extending through the barrel nut engaging structure, wherein each one of the fastener receiving passages extends substantially parallel to the central passage of the main body.
 8. The main body of claim 6, further comprising: a barrel nut shoulder receiving recess within the end face of the barrel nut engaging structure; and a barrel nut shoulder engaging lip within the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess; wherein the accessory mounting structure is cylindrically shaped; wherein the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially circular in shape; wherein the barrel nut shoulder engaging lip is substantially circular in shape; and wherein the barrel nut shoulder engaging lip and the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess are each substantially concentric with the central bore of the main body.
 9. The main body of claim 8, further comprising: a fastener clearance recess within an exterior side face of the accessory mounting structure, wherein the exterior side face extends between the front end face of the main body and the barrel nut engaging structure and wherein the fastener clearance recess extends substantially perpendicular to the central passage of the main body.
 10. A rifle accessory mounting apparatus, comprising: a main body having an accessory mounting structure and a barrel nut engaging structure connected to the accessory mounting structure, wherein an end face of the accessory mounting structure defines a front end face of the main body and an end face of the barrel nut engaging structure defines a rear end face of the main body, and wherein a central passage of the main body extends through the main body between the front and rear end faces thereof; and a barrel nut securing member having a main body attachment structure integral therewith, wherein the main body attachment structure is alignable with an engagement member attachment structure of the barrel nut engaging structure for enabling a shoulder of a barrel nut to be securely engaged between the barrel nut engaging structure and the barrel nut securing member when the shoulder of the barrel nut is positioned between the barrel nut engaging structure and the barrel nut securing member.
 11. The rifle accessory mounting apparatus of claim 10 wherein: the barrel nut engaging structure includes a barrel nut shoulder receiving recess within the end face thereof; and the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially circular in shape.
 12. The rifle accessory mounting apparatus of claim 10 wherein the barrel nut securing member is semi-circular in shape.
 13. The rifle accessory mounting apparatus of claim 12 wherein: the main body attachment structure includes a plurality of the fastener receiving passages; and the engagement member attachment structure includes a plurality of fastener receiving passages extending therethrough substantially parallel to the central passage of the main body.
 14. The rifle accessory mounting apparatus of claim 10 wherein: the barrel nut engaging structure includes a barrel nut shoulder receiving recess within the end face thereof; the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially circular in shape; the barrel nut engaging structure includes a barrel nut shoulder engaging lip within the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess thereof; and the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially circular in shape.
 15. The rifle accessory mounting apparatus of claim 10 wherein the main body is a one-piece unit.
 16. A rifle accessory system, comprising: a mounting apparatus main body including an accessory mounting structure having opposing end portions and a barrel nut engaging structure connected to a first one of the end portions of the accessory mounting structure such that an end face of the accessory mounting structure defines a front end face of the mounting apparatus main body and an end face of the barrel nut engaging structure defines a rear end face of the mounting apparatus main body, wherein a central passage of the mounting apparatus main body extends through the accessory mounting structure and the barrel nut engaging structure; and a rifle accessory main body having a first end portion and a second end portion, wherein a central passage of the rifle accessory extends therethrough between the first and second end portions thereof, wherein the first end portion of the rifle accessory defines a main body engaging collar configured for having the accessory mounting structure of the mounting apparatus main body engaged therein, and wherein the main body engaging collar and the accessory mounting structure are jointly configured such that a centerline axis of the rifle accessory central passage remains substantially aligned with a centerline axis of the accessory mounting structure central passage when the accessory mounting structure of the mounting apparatus main body is engaged within the main body engaging collar.
 17. The rifle accessory system of claim 16 wherein: the barrel nut engaging structure includes a barrel nut shoulder receiving recess within the end face thereof; and the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially circular in shape.
 18. The rifle accessory system of claim 16 wherein: the main body attachment structure includes a plurality of the fastener receiving passages; and the engagement member attachment structure includes a plurality of fastener receiving passages extending therethrough substantially parallel to the central passage of the main body.
 19. The rifle accessory system of claim 16 wherein: the rifle accessory main body is a one-piece unit; and the main body engaging collar includes a slot therein extending from an end face at the first end portion of the rifle accessory toward the second end portion of the rifle accessory.
 20. The rifle accessory system of claim 19 wherein: the barrel nut engaging structure includes a barrel nut shoulder receiving recess within the end face thereof; the barrel nut shoulder receiving recess is substantially circular in shape; the main body attachment structure includes a plurality of the fastener receiving passages; and the engagement member attachment structure includes a plurality of fastener receiving passages extending therethrough substantially parallel to the central passage of the main body. 